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party heavyweights have released statements or online videos expressing support for the vote
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| party heavyweights have released statements or online videos expressing support for the vote, which will take place at the Avenue Conference Center, near Ben Gurion Airport. They include Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, Environmental Protection Minister Ze’ev Elkin and Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, long an opponent of such ideological declarations by party institutions, but eager in recent months to appeal to the party’s right-wing base, will not be attending the gathering. But “the gathering is taking place with his full knowledge. He didn’t try to delay or cancel the meeting,” assured the party activist website “Balikud,” which backs Sunday’s “historic” vote. The keynote speaker at the confab will be longtime Netanyahu opponent and former cabinet minister Gideon Sa’ar, also a backer of the resolution. The vote was called by Likud activists in the West Bank, who gathered over 900 signatures of Central Committee members, allowing the resolution to be presented without requiring the consent of party leaders. The resolution marks the first time since the 2005 Israeli pullout from Gaza that party activists have gathered the hundreds of signatures required to propose such a resolution. The resolution reads: “Fifty years after the liberation of Judea and Samaria, and with them Jerusalem, our eternal capital, the Likud Central Committee calls on Likud’s elected leaders to work to allow unhindered construction and to extend Israeli law and sovereignty in all the areas of liberated settlement in Judea and Samaria.” MORE - https://www.timesofisrael.com/likuds-top-body-set-to-urge-annexing-parts-of-west-bank/ [This would help take the Likud party back to its roots and change much of their conciliatory direction. – rdb] Assad regains control as Syrian rebels abandon area bordering Golan Heights Besieged insurgents and their families agree to leave Beit Jinn peacefully, are bused away to other rebel-held areas of the country By AP and TOI staff 30 December 2017, 5:59
The Beit Jinn area was the last significant rebel-held enclave southwest of Damascus. Its surrender allowed President Bashar Assad to reassert control over the Syrian Golan. The government-controlled Syrian Central Military Media said 153 people, including 106 fighters, left the village of Beit Jinn early Saturday toward the southern province of Daraa. The Ibaa news agency of the al-Qaida-linked Levant Liberation Committee said six buses carrying fighters and their families arrived in rebel-held parts of Daraa province. On Friday, Syria’s state news agency SANA said some 300 al-Qaeda-linked militants and their families would be sent to Daraa and the northwestern province of Idlib. The evacuation allows the government to reassert control over Beit Jinn near the Golan Heights, captured by Israel from Syria during the 1967 Six Day War. On Tuesday Reuters had reported that the besieged rebels had been ordered by surrounding regime forces to surrender or face defeat. “They were given 72 hours to surrender with fighters to go to [rebel-held] Idlib or those who want to stay have to reach a settlement,” said a Free Syrian Arm official said. Rebels situated in Beit Jinn faced Syrian military forces as well as Iranian-backed militias and the Hezbollah terrorist group. Fierce fighting had been reported in the area in recent days as the forces backing President Bashar Assad advanced on the rebels. Israel has publicly warned against the accumulation of Iranian and Iranian-backed forces at its border. Iran has arranged for thousands of militiamen from across the region to fight on behalf of Assad’s government and has sent top commanders to direct its own Revolutionary Guards in the country as well. https://www.timesofisrael.com/assad-regains-control-as-syrian-rebels-abandon-area-bordering-golan-heights/ Tel Aviv protester raps PM as ‘Traitor-Yahu’ as 5th rally draws thousands Anti-corruption demonstrators chant 'Netanyahu to Ma'asiyahu [prison]'; coalition chairman accuses demonstrators of 'crossing red lines' By TOI staff 30 December 2017, 9:02 pm Several thousand protesters gathered at an anti-corruption demonstration in Tel Aviv, the fifth in as many Saturday nights, calling for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be jailed. “Netanyahu to Ma’asiyahu [prison],” chanted demonstrators on Rothschild Boulevard in the coastal city. One protester brandished a sign reading “Traitor-Yahu” on one side, and “Parasite-Yahu,” on the other, a play on the prime minister’s name. New coalition chairman David Amsalem (Likud) accused the protesters of crossing “red lines.” “The left-wing protests started with unacceptable pressure against law enforcement, continued with photos of me and Bitan as apes… last week came to the guillotine and incitement to murder, and this week [featured] a sign of ‘Traitor-Yahu’ against the prime minister,” said Amsalem. “The Rothschild protesters want to replace the government without elections, and on the way they cross red lines again and again,” added the Likud MK. [You have to understand that Tel Aviv is the liberal Miami of Israel. Fundamental religious and conservative principles mean nothing here. In general “everyone does what is right in their own eyes” and it is truly a den of iniquity with a high prostitution, gay/lesbian and crime rate. It is very much like the crazy US west coast and North East states. – rdb] At the previous Tel Aviv event, held last Saturday night, one protester caused outrage by parading with a cardboard guillotine. That sign was condemned by lawmakers across the political spectrum and President Reuven Rivlin as “incitement.” The weekly protests, which began a year ago in Petah Tikva and spread to Tel Aviv, have also alleged stalling by law enforcement in the Netanyahu corruption probes. The latest round of protests came days after the Knesset passed a law blocking police investigators from informing prosecutors whether they believe there are grounds for indicting suspected public officials. MORE - https://www.timesofisrael.com/thousands-in-tel-aviv-protest-corruption-call-for-pm-to-be-jailed/
Some 650 12th-grade students sign letter disavowing previous letter penned by 63 students refusing to serve in IDF, denouncing 'racist government policy'; 'We will serve wherever Israel needs us,' counter-letter declares; 'Writers of refusal letter should be denied voting rights,' says head of military prep school. Ynet writers|Published: 30.12.17 , 11:33 The letter penned by 63 draft-age 12th graders proclaiming their refusal to serve in the IDF, unveiled in Yedioth Ahronoth Thursday, was the subject of raucous response from both sides of the political aisle, and received a counter from other 12th graders who opposed it. "The military carries out a racist government policy that violates basic human rights," the original letter calling for draft refusal said. "We therefore have decided not to participate in the occupation and oppression of the Palestinian people." Upon learning of the letter, hundreds of 12th-graders decided to respond in kind, writing a counter-petition to Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which they stated, "We will serve wherever Israel needs us." The letter was the brainchild of students from Sderot, members of the AMIT school network's youth leadership program. The letter has thus far been signed by 650 12th graders from across Israel. "We wish to strengthen the IDF, strengthen the State of Israel, and declare we will continue serving in the army and national service to defend the people and our country," the letter's writers vowed. Chai Levy, a Sderot resident and one of the letter's originators, said, "We felt we had to respond, because statements (like the ones expressed in the original draft refusal letter—ed) have no place in Israeli society. Refusal to serve in the IDF is a grave mistake." His friend, Re'em Argov, added, "The vast majority of young people in Israel understand that without a strong army we won't have much of a country left to live in."
Deputy Defense Minister Eli Ben-Dahan (Bayit Yehudi) blasted the 63 students in harsher terms. "Using military service to promote political opinions the vast majority of Israelis object to is hypocritical and contemptible. I call upon all left-wingers who regularly denounce calls to refuse (to serve in the IDF) to also denounce this letter," he demanded. Head of the Tavor Leadership Academy military preparatory program in Nazareth Illit Maj. (res.) Amichai Shikli offered even more virulent criticism, calling to disenfranchise those who signed the letter from voting.
Not all responses were negative, however. The 63 students' letter was lauded, for example, by Joint List Chairman MK Ayman Odeh, who congratulated its writers. "Brave boys and girls, it's so moving and meaningful to see these youths stand up to the entire society and proclaiming, in the loudest and proudest terms possible: we will not serve the occupation and oppression of the Palestinian people. One day, all of society will appreciate your work here as well," he assured. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5063806,00.html Government to approve NIS 200 million to combat infiltration Population and Immigration Authority gets additional funds, 180 new jobs as part of large-scale campaign to remove 42,000 illegal African migrants from Israel; African nationals to voluntarily leave will receive $3,500 to start a new life elsewhere; others deported will receive smaller sum. Itamar Eichner|Published: 31.12.17 , 11:11 The government is expected to approve Sunday the allocation of NIS 200 million a year on top of 180 new jobs for the Population and Immigration Authority as part of a large-scale campaign to remove 42,000 illegal African migrants from Israel. According to the proposal by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Interior Minister Aryeh Deri and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, the Israeli government will offer each African national $3,500 to start a new life elsewhere. Meanwhile, the additional manpower will be employed in checking existing asylum requests submitted by Sudanese and Eritrean nationals, increasing enforcement against employers hiring infiltrators, and organizing the voluntary departure and subsequent deportation of infiltrators to a third country. MORE - https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5064156,00.html Fatah official: Efforts underway to arrange rare Abbas-Haniyeh meeting By Adam Rasgon December 30, 2017 18:17 The Arab world is 'in a state of hesitation' following President Donald Trump’s changes to US policy on Jerusalem. There are ongoing efforts to arrange a meeting between Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas Politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh, a senior Fatah official said on Friday. Abbas and Haniyeh last met in October 2016, in Doha, Qatar. “We are actually working on arranging” such a meeting, Fatah Central Committee member Azzam al-Ahmad told the Lebanese television channel Al-Mayadeen, adding that a time and place for a face-to-face encounter between the leaders had yet to be set. Abbas’s and Haniyeh’s respective parties, Fatah and Hamas, signed an agreement in mid-October to advance Palestinian reconciliation and restore the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority’s control over the Gaza Strip. However, the rival parties have largely failed to implement the agreement, fighting over interpretations of its details. Hamas has controlled Gaza since ousting Fatah from the territory in 2007. One of the most contested issues between the parties is the future of security in Gaza. Fatah has demanded that all weapons be in the PA’s hands, while Hamas has said its armed wing, the Izzadin Kassam Brigades, and other armed groups will not cede control over their arms. In his interview with Al-Mayadeen, Ahmad also said that the Arab world is “in a state of hesitation” following President Donald Trump’s changes to US policy on Jerusalem. On December 6, Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and initiated a process to relocate the US Embassy in Tel Aviv to the holy city, breaking with decades of American policy. Nonetheless, the US president said the final status of Jerusalem would be up to Israel and the Palestinians to decide. Ahmad said, however, that Arab states would have no choice but to stand with the Palestinian leadership in confronting Trump’s decision. He did not clearly explain why Arab states have to support the Palestinian leadership’s position, but suggested that the Arab street would not allow their governments to neglect the issue of Jerusalem. Protests in the Arab world against Trump’s moves on Jerusalem have been relatively small compared to what many politicians and experts predicted. http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Fatah-official-Efforts-underway-to-arrange-rare-Abbas-Haniyeh-meeting-521409 Jordan denies arresting king’s brothers over Saudi contacts Military officials say Abdullah's relatives merely resigned; state media outlet says dismissals part of 'restructuring' By TOI staff 30 December 2017, 10:49 pm The Jordanian army on Saturday denied a report that two of King Abdullah II’s brothers had been arrested over contacts with Saudi Arabian officials. The alleged arrests were said to have been directed by Abdullah after his intelligence services notified him of communications between his two brothers, as well as a cousin, with officials in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the al-Sura regional site reported. The website said the two were held in house arrest. Amman is reportedly frustrated with Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman’s new agenda, namely his desire to strip the Hashemite Kingdom of its custodianship over the Temple Mount, according to the Haaretz daily. [The best thing that could happen is to remove Abdullah and establish a replacement government in Jordan. He has been a waffling ‘taker’ of money from the US and has done little to truly deal with the problems of his country. – rdb] But in denying the arrests, Jordanian military officials said the brothers — Prince Faisal bin Hussein and Prince Ali bin Hussein — had simply “retired.” The state-run Petra news agency said the dismissal of Abdullah’s relatives was merely part of a “restructuring” plan to make way for the king’s eldest son, Hussein, to serve a larger role in the army. The Saudi crown prince has led a broad anti-corruption campaign which has included the arrests of 11 princes as well as some 200 other officials and business-people. US analysts believe the move may have been an attempt to push out rivals ahead of his father stepping down, the New York Times reported. https://www.timesofisrael.com/jordan-denies-arresting-kings-brothers-over-saudi-contacts/ Report: Turkey signs purchase deal of S-400 missile systems from Russia Turkey has signed a deal with Russia for the purchase of S-400 missile defense systems, according to a report in CNN Turk. Ankra will reportedly deploy the system in 2020 and will be the first NATO member nation to use the Russian made systems. Dec 29, 2017, 5:45PM Avital Zippel Turkey and Russia signed a deal that Moscow will supply Ankara with an advanced S-400 anti-aircraft missile system, according to a report by CNN Turk. The deal is reportedly estimated to be worth $2.5 billion. According to the report, the purchase includes at least four systems that will be deployed in Turkey in 2020, thus make it the first NATO member nation to use the Russian defense systems instead of one authorized by NATO. The system reportedly has a range of 400 kilometers and is effective against stealth aircraft. Moscow claims the S-400 is capable of shooting 80 missiles towards various targets simultaneously. The announcement comes amid rising tensions between Washington and Ankara. As previously reported by JOL, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that the US’ recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is seen by Turkey as a "red line.” He called US President Donald Trump's decision "provocative and unjust" and urged the US to retract it. http://www.jerusalemonline.com/news/world-news/around-the-globe/report-turkey-russia-sign-s-400-missile-system-purchase-deal-33363 [Just keep looking and watching the Russian actions in the ME. Their arming and associations with Iran, Turkey and Syria are right out of Ezekiel. This situation will explode very soon the way it is going. – rdb] Jewish leader decries ‘commonplace’ anti-Semitism in Germany Charlotte Knobloch says community life can only take place under police protection, days after Hannukah menorah vandalized By TOI staff Today, 2:03 am A Jewish leader in Germany says community life is being muzzled by rampant anti-Semitism in the country. Charlotte Knobloch, a former head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, told local newspaper Heilbronner Stimme that physical and verbal anti-Jewish attacks had become “commonplace,” forcing the community to seek help from the police. “Jewish life can only take place in public under police protection and under the strictest security measures — or it has to be canceled altogether,” she said. The comments came after a large public Hannukah menorah in Heilbronn was vandalized over the holiday earlier this month. Police have said they are investigating if the vandalism was motivated by anti-Semitism or hooliganism, though Knobloch told the paper past incidents of anti-Jewish vandalism led her to believe it was the former. “Jewish institutions, synagogues and cemeteries are regularly vandalized, publicly accessible exhibitions and installations are willfully damaged or destroyed,” she said. Knobloch and others have raised alarms recently about growing anti-Semitism, especially after the far-right AfD party entered the German parliament earlier this year, a result she called a “nightmare come true” at the time. MORE - https://www.timesofisrael.com/jewish-leader-decries-commonplace-anti-semitism-in-germany/ [The rise of AfD is directly related to Merkel’s ridiculous immigration policy (or lack of a policy = open doors) which has subjected the German people to a tremendous amount of terrorism by the islamics and has made the far more sensitized to radicals. Some of those on the right are reverting to the anti-Semitic history of the past and some/ much of the vandalism is from islamics. – rdb] France sets up tax dept to investigate Jews By ELA LEVI-WEINRIB/ GLOBES December 30, 2017 02:45 The department currently has 20 Hebrew-speaking employees, and is in the process of hiring five more. Tel Aviv (Tribune News Service) - In Paris's 12th arrondissement, on Bercy Street by the banks of the River Seine, on the 13th floor of the Ministry of Finance is France's tax authority headquarters. Something has been afoot there recently that is liable to upset French Jews and spook their relations with the country in which they live. Under the radar, a secret department has been created with the sole purpose of handling tax evasion by French Jews. "Globes" can reveal for the first time the details of the secret department that is targeting Jews in France and new immigrants from France in Israel. Sources inform "Globes" that over the past year, the tax authority in the Fifth Republic founded a special department for dealing with French Jews. The department currently has 20 Hebrew-speaking employees, and is in the process of hiring five more. This extraordinary department is one of a kind. Tax authorities do not usually establish departments targeting a specific nationality or religion. The action is astonishing, especially when the country involved is France, which is constitutionally defined as a secular republic that refrains from "marking" people according to their religion. Tax authorities around the world do establish teams to deal with sectors whose tax reporting is questionable. They target a specific market when there is concern that it contains a large amount of unreported capital, such as the real estate market or the diamond market. Setting up a specific department dealing with a designated nationality or religion, however, is not an accepted practice. The only "department" ostensibly close in character to this secret French department is a new department established in the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for dealing with cases of Israelis, American-Israelis, and Americans with assets and money in Israel. This US department, however, resulted from the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) signed by Israel and the US, in which huge amounts of information are transferred by the countries about their taxpayers, and someone has to handle that information. This was not the purpose for which the department was set up in the French tax authority. MORE - http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/France-sets-up-tax-dept-to-investigate-Jews-521379 [Just in case you thought the French were not really anti-Semitic or had mended their Nazi era ways. – rdb] California Led U.S. with 490 UFO Sightings in 2017 By Paula Bolyard December 28, 2017 UFO sightings are nothing new. The Puritans reported strange sightings and lights in the sky as early as the 1600s. With the advent of movies about outer space and unidentified flying objects came even more sightings. The National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC) has an entire website dedicated to the "collection and dissemination of objective UFO data." The organization curates reports of UFO sightings in the U.S. and Canada via a web form and a phone hotline, which has operated almost continuously since 1974. NUFORC logged a total of 4,655 sightings in 2017, down from the 2016 total of 5,619. A recent report came from New Mexico on December 14. A woman reported that she and her husband saw a triangular object with bright green lights near Santa Fe. She claims they "saw an object flying across the Interstate in a southeasterly direction. It appeared triangular with bright green lights around its entire periphery." "From my husband's perspective, it appeared larger than a full moon," she reported. "By the time it crossed my field of vision (I was in the passenger seat), it appeared slightly smaller than a full moon. It was perhaps several hundred feet in front and above us and appeared to be moving at about 100 mph or less. It seemed to be heading down and then it vanished." NUFORC spoke with the witness via telephone and "found her to be very eloquent, and very sober-minded. We suspect that she is an excellent witness."
BY Constance Gibbs NEW YORK DAILY NEWSFriday, December 29, 2017, 3:57 PM Get buff in the buff this new year. Hanson Fitness, which boasts such celebrity clients as Rihanna, Julia Roberts and Tom Cruise, will be holding naked personal fitness classes to kick off 2018. On Jan. 5 at 6 p.m., the fitness studio will have its first nude personal training session. The studio initially plans to host three sessions a week: one mixed, one for men, and one for women. Located in SoHo (42 Wooster St, New York, N.Y., 10012), the class will be a “total body workout that uses your body weight as resistance to work the glute, butt, legs and core — making you look and feel good naked,” the company said in a press release. New year, nude you, they say. Hanson studio founder Harry Hanson, fitness guru, said in the release, “Our approach makes sure our members get and stay in the absolute best shape, and our new naked personal fitness sessions are no exception. This new development brings with it a range of fitness and health benefits and allows our members to have a little cheeky fun in the process!” MORE - . http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/naked-gym-classes-offered-new-york-article-1.3726326 [Does this kind of put you in the mind of the Greek and Roman gymnasia where they were all ‘exercising” au natural. It didn’t really work so well and only lead to a lot of ‘less than civil’ behaviors. – rdb]
NFL bows to player protests, will dole out millions to Soros-linked social-justice groups Players Coalition reportedly strikes $89 million deal with NFL team owners By Valerie Richardson - The Washington Times - Monday, December 4, 2017 Plagued by sagging ratings, player protests and fan outrage, the NFL has thrown a political Hail Mary by reportedly agreeing to dole out millions of dollars to two social justice groups connected to Democratic billionaire George Soros. Under an agreement with the Players Coalition, NFL owners plan to funnel tens of millions of dollars to the Dream Corps, a leftist advocacy group led by former Obama adviser Van Jones and linked to Mr. Soros, which has called for saving the Clean Power Plan, cutting the prison population by half and providing “sanctuary for all.” The $89 million, seven-year deal also carves out millions of dollars for the Players Coalition, according to ESPN, which has been advised by Soros-funded groups such as the Campaign for Fair Sentencing of Youth and the Center for American Progress, a leader of the anti-Trump “resistance.”
“No decisions have been made on where the money will go yet, much less all the money over the next 7 years,” Mr. Lockhart said in an email. “Those decisions will be made by the working group that has not been formed yet.” Still, there is no guarantee that the hefty payout will solve the league’s public relations woes MORE - https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/dec/4/nfl-inks-deal-george-soros-linked-social-justice-g/ ][This is an abomination and people who have NFL tickets should sell them for squat or hold them and not show up. Their rating are already going down and it is time to break the NFL and its organization and the criminals on the field and in the office. – rdb]
The phrase was first made popular by President Ronald Reagan in 1983, who also said he came to Washington to “drain the swamp.” Reagan’s sentiment was identical to Trump’s in that regard. Reagan also wished to roll back the size and scope of the federal government. It was used again in 2007 by Nancy Pelosi, when the Republicans imploded and were tossed out, leaving her to be elevated to speaker of the House. However, her sentiment was just slightly different. She claimed to want to “drain the swamp” of over 10 years of Republican control of the House. But it appears, of the three, Donald Trump has already been the most successful. But his success could unfortunately be classified as a mere spit in the ocean. For as a new report chronicles, called “Mapping the Swamp,” the Washington, D.C., swamp is far more vast than even we conservatives imagined. We who write and talk about this stuff report on the size of the bureaucratic state all the time, but to see the magnitude of the federal government laid out in black and white staggers the imagination. Just the sheer size, in terms of employees, boggles the mind. At almost 2 million, the federal government employs more people than the combined populations of Alaska, Wyoming and Vermont. And then there’s the cost – to us, the taxpayer. Open the Books, creators of the document, calculated the cost to employ these “civil servants” at $136 billion per year. This, they calculate, is $1.1 million per minute, or $524 million per day. These figures are for the non-military workforce only, which makes it all that much more disheartening. Civil service used to be something people did for the good of the community – thus the name civil service. I recall, many years ago, a friend told me he was moving from the private to the public sector. He explained that he wanted more job security for his family. He said he was willing to sacrifice private-sector pay for public security, benefits and time off. Well, as “Mapping the Swamp” chronicles, those days have passed. No longer do people seek out civil-service jobs to be of service, nor sacrifice a thing. They do it to enrich themselves on the backs of taxpayers.
They report that “more than 406,000 received six-figure incomes in 2016.” That’s almost 25 percent of the entire workforce receiving $100,000 or more. And more than 30,000 received in excess of $190,000. This, they say, is more than every governor in all 50 states made that same year. Yes, 30,000 government hacks warrant higher pay than the chief executive of every state. And, naturally, the Obama years saw the most dramatic increase in the enrichment of the public sector. Between 2010 and 2016, the number of federal employees making $200,000 or more increased by 165 percent, and those making over $150,000 grew by 60 percent. Adding insult to injury, the department with the greatest number of top earners is the Department of Veterans Affairs – the V.A. The department that abuses and kills our American heroes is best compensated. That pretty much says it all. I congratulate President Trump for his effort thus far to drain the swamp. However, no single man or any one administration will have the power or longevity to put a dent in the runaway bureaucratic state. It’s like trying to drain the Everglades with a drinking straw. http://www.wnd.com/2017/12/true-size-of-the-fed-swamp-will-blow-your-mind/
By Lisa Rein and Andrew Ba Tran December 30 at 1:00 PM Nearly a year into his takeover of Washington, President Trump has made a significant down payment on his campaign pledge to shrink the federal bureaucracy, a shift long sought by conservatives that could eventually bring the workforce down to levels not seen in decades. By the end of September, all Cabinet departments except Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs and Interior had fewer permanent staff than when Trump took office in January — with most shedding many hundreds of employees, according to an analysis of federal personnel data by The Washington Post. The diminishing federal footprint comes after Trump promised in last year’s campaign to “cut so much your head will spin,” and it reverses a boost in hiring under President Barack Obama. The falloff has been driven by an exodus of civil servants, a diminished corps of political appointees and an effective hiring freeze. Even though Congress did not pass a new budget in his first year, the drastic spending cuts Trump laid out in the spring — which would slash more than 30 percent of funding at some agencies — also has triggered a spending slowdown, according to officials at multiple departments.
Yesterday's 2017 review and forecast for 2018 focused on the most urgent challenges the Trump administration faces: the volatile Middle East, international terrorism and the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. Today, we examine the strategic threats posed by China and Russia and one of President Trump's continuing priorities: preserving and enhancing American sovereignty. China has likely been Trump's biggest personal disappointment in 2017, one where he thought that major improvements might be possible, especially in international trade. Despite significant investments of time and attention to President Xi Jinping, now empowered in ways unprecedented since Mao Tse Tung, very little has changed in Beijing's foreign policy, bilaterally or globally. There is no evidence of improved trade relations, or any effort by China to curb its abuses, such as pirating intellectual property, government discrimination against foreign traders and investors, or biased judicial fora. Even worse, Beijing's belligerent steps to annex the South China Sea and threaten Japan and Taiwan in the East China Sea continued unabated, or even accelerated in 2017. In all probability, therefore, 2018 will see tensions ratchet up in these critical regions, as America (and hopefully others) defend against thinly veiled Chinese military aggression. Japan in particular has reached its limits as China has increased its capabilities across the full military spectrum, including at sea, in space and cyberwarfare. Taiwan is not far behind. Even South Korea's Moon Jae In may be growing disenchanted with Beijing as it seeks to constrain Seoul's strategic defense options. And make no mistake, what China is doing in its littoral periphery is closely watched in India, where the rise of Chinese economic and military power is increasingly worrying. The Trump administration should closely monitor all these flash points along China's frontiers, any one of which could provoke a major military confrontation, if not next year, soon thereafter. North Korea's nuclear weapons program is where China has most disappointed the White House. Xi Jinping has played the United States just like his predecessors, promising increased pressure on Pyongyang but not delivering nearly enough. The most encouraging news came as 2017 ended, in the revelation that Chinese and American military officers have discussed possible scenarios involving regime collapse or military conflict in North Korea. While unclear how far these talks have progressed, the mere fact that China is engaging in them shows a new level of awareness of how explosive the situation is. So, 2018 will be critical not only regarding North Korea's nuclear weapons threat but also whether Sino-American relations improve or take a distinct turn for the worse. On Russia, the president has not given up on Vladimir Putin, at least not yet, but that may well come in 2018. Putin is an old-school, hard-edged, national interest-centered Russian leader, defending the "rodina" (the motherland), not a discredited ideology. Confronted with U.S. strength, Putin knows when to pull back, and he is, when it suits him, even capable of making and keeping deals. But there is no point in romanticizing the Moscow-Washington dynamic. It must be based not on personal relationships but on realpolitik. No better proof exists than Russia's reaction to Trump's recent decision to supply lethal weapons to Ukraine, which is now a war zone entirely because of Russian aggression. To hear Moscow react to Trump's weapons decision, however, one would think he was responsible for increased hostilities. President Obama should have acted at the first evidence of Russia's military incursion into Ukraine, and even Trump's aid is a small step compared to President Bush's 2008 proposal to move Kiev quickly toward NATO membership. Nonetheless, every independent state that emerged from the Soviet Union, NATO member or not, is obsessed with how America handles Ukraine. They should be, because the Kremlin's calculus about their futures will almost certainly turn on whether Trump draws a line on Moscow's adventurism in Ukraine. Just as troubling as Russia's menace in Eastern and Central Europe is its reemergence as a great power player in the Middle East. Just weeks ago, the Russian Duma ratified an agreement greatly expanding Russia's naval station at Tartus, Syria. In 2015, Obama stood dumbfounded as Russia built a significant air base in nearby Latakia, thus cementing the intrusion of Russia's military presence in the Middle East to an extent not seen since Anwar Sadat expelled Soviet military advisers and brought Egypt into the Western orbit in the 1970s. This expansion constitutes a significant power projection for the Kremlin. Indeed, it seems clear that Russia's support (even more than Iran's) for Syria's Assad regime has kept the dictatorship in power. Russia's assertiveness in 2017 also empowered Tehran, even as the ISIS caliphate was destroyed, to create an arc of Shia military power from Iran, through Iraq and Syria, linking up with Hezbollah in Lebanon. This Russian-Iranian axis should rank alongside Iran's nuclear-weapons program on America's list of threats emanating from the Middle East. Finally, the pure folly of both the U.N. Security Council and the General Assembly crossing the United States on the Jerusalem embassy decision was a mistake of potentially devastating consequences for the United Nations. Combined with the International Criminal Court's November decision to move toward investigating alleged U.S. war crimes in Afghanistan, there is now ample space for the White House to expand on the president's focus on protecting American sovereignty. Trump's first insight into the rage for "global governance" among the high minded came on trade issues, and his concern for the World Trade Organization's adjudication mechanism. These are substantial and legitimate, but the broader issues of "who governs" and the challenges to constitutional, representative government from international bodies and treaties that expressly seek to advance global governing institutions are real and growing. America has long been an obstacle to these efforts, due to our quaint attachment to our Constitution and the exceptionalist notion that we don't need international treaties to "improve" it. No recent president has made the sovereignty point as strongly as Trump, and the United Nations and International Criminal Court actions in 2017 now afford him a chance to make decisive political and financial responses in 2018. If 2017 was a tumultuous year internationally, 2018 could make it seem calm by comparison.
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